This year’s Guardian Charity Awards have proved their enduring popularity. Almost 1,300 small and medium-sized charities working in the UK entered, in search of the recognition that comes readily to bigger voluntary organisations, but all too often eludes the vast majority.
The awards, sponsored by Zurich Insurance, offer a leg-up to five winning charities delivering innovative and practical solutions. With last week’s government spending review signalling further cuts to support for the voluntary sector from local councils, the focus on the work of smaller charities could not be more timely.
David Brindle, the Guardian’s public services editor and chair of the awards judging panel, says: “Many of this year’s entries reflected the leading concerns of the moment: the plight of refugees, the growing awareness that younger people are suffering most from austerity and the nutrition needs of so many low-income households. Our winners reflect the great breadth and imagination of the work by smaller charities to address those concerns, and so much more.”
As well as Zurich’s support, which provides £3,000 prize money for each winner and a day’s business mentoring, the awards are backed by the FSI (Foundation for Social Improvement), which helps to build the capacity of small charities, and the Media Trust – both are offering tailored packages of support for the winners. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations is providing a year’s free membership; charity law specialists Bates Wells Braithwaite is offering tailored trustee training; and technology company Jigsaw24 is supplying an iPad Mini to each winner.
The judges included Jane Asher, president of the National Autistic Society, Amy Brettell, head of charities and social organisations at Zurich, Lynne Berry, chair of Breast Cancer Now, Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO and Joe Irvin, chief executive of Living Streets.
Action Foundation
“Winning a Guardian award is a huge encouragement to our staff and volunteers, who work so tirelessly supporting our clients” says Julian Prior, Action Foundation’s chief executive officer.
The Tyneside charity was founded in 2006 to help destitute asylum seekers, who had been refused the right to stay in the UK but had not yet returned home and so faced homelessness and isolation. It runs three projects: Action Housing provides accommodation to destitute asylum seekers with no recourse to public funds; Action Letting manages property for landlords and lets it to homeless refugees; and Action Language provides free English language classes to migrants.
It is aiming to open a new house for destitute asylum seekers. The prize money will go towards supporting two residents for a year with housing and travel expenses, access to a food bank and cash support, as well as English classes.
“Our clients are some of the most excluded in our community as many have been refused asylum and have no access to welfare support or the right to work. This forces them to rely on charities or friends for their survival, driving many into illegal work where they are extremely vulnerable to exploitation including prostitution,” says Prior.
He adds: “It is particularly meaningful to win an award recognising the work we have been doing for many years.”
Environmental and Management Solutions
Unloved green spaces have been developed into thriving community allotment plots and edible gardens under the care of Hull-based charity, EMS.
Since 2009, members of the team have worked into the evenings and given up their weekends to alleviate food and fuel poverty. Jan Boyd, the charity’s chief executive says the general feeling among members at having won a Guardian Charity Award is ecstatic.
“I have mentally cartwheeled around the office more than once,” she says. Since November 2013, the charity has fitted 466 energy monitors in residents’ homes which show how electricity use changes when appliances are turned on and off. With up to £1,020 reported annual savings from the monitors, Boyd feels the award is an acknowledgment of the charity’s track record.
“This renews our dedication to look at new projects and services that help disadvantaged communities,” she says.
The prize money will be spent on three ventures: training a staff member to be a horticultural therapist, offering volunteers a City & Guilds course in horticulture, and undertaking an audit so that the social impact of the charity can be further identified and services targeted.
“Winning this award is not only great for us but also for Hull, as the city continues to raise its profile leading into Hull 2017 (City of Culture),” says Boyd.
Hand on Heart
Twelve young people die from sudden cardiac arrest each week. Hand on Heart charity is working across the UK to raise awareness of SCA among children and young people.
Despite being established as recently as 2012, the organisation, with head offices in Manchester, has already placed more than 800 defibrillators in schools and community settings. “Having the endorsement of the Guardian Charity Awards will assist our profile,” says Victoria Burrows, chief executive.“To receive such an accolade in under four years is a huge achievement, which the board of trustees and team are immensely proud of.”
Hand on Heart has made more than 600 schools “heart safe”, educated more than 4,800 teachers and trained more than 16,500 pupils. The charity, funded by individual donations, corporate support and campaigns, will use the prize money to buy equipment and contribute towards marketing and PR.
“We are increasing access to lifesaving equipment that can increase the chance of survival from a cardiac arrest by over 70%,” says Burrows. “And providing lifesaving skills to members of those communities to ensure they can respond as effectively as possible.”
The Brilliant Club
In just five years, The Brilliant Club has grown from a two-person startup to one of the largest providers of university access programmes in England.
More than 450 PhD students and 80 teachers work with 7,000 pupils aged 10-18 on programmes focused on successful academic outcomes for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Some 35% are eligible for free school meals and 54% live in postcodes with the highest number of disadvantaged children.
In the UK, only 2% of children eligible for free school meals get into a leading university, compared with 20% of state school pupils, and 50% of children educated at independent school. Jonny Sobczyk, chief executive officer and co-founder of The Brilliant Club, says that last year 87% of their cohort applied to what he describes as highly selective universities and 54% are now studying at one. Sobczyk says winning a Guardian Charity Award will “give a special boost to our pupils, tutors, trainee teachers, staff and trustees”.
He plans to use the prize money to roll out the charity’s scholars programme (tutorials delivered to schools, in a university-style format) to the north-west.
Working Chance
Many people with criminal convictions face barriers to employment and this can lead to reoffending. Working Chance supports female ex-offenders to find work with mainstream employers in order to help break cycle of disadvantage and crime. The rate of reoffending for the women it places into work is below 5%, in stark contrast with the national average of 45%. The north London charity aims to place around 720 women, with more than 1,000 children between them, into work over the next three years.
“We are hugely excited and grateful to be a winner of the Guardian Charity Awards 2015,” says Giulia Cirillo, Working Chance’s fundraising and communications officer. She hopes the award will increase the charity’s exposure in mainstream media, “helping us spread the word about the discrimination faced by women ex-offenders in the workplace”.
The charity plans to spend the prize money on running six employer engagement events, a crucial part of its strategy for placing women into worthwhile jobs.
Interviews by Ann-Marie Abbasah
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This article was amended on 2 December to state that 2% of children eligible for free school meals get into a leading university. A previous version said 50%.
